Travel stocks are experiencing a strong start to the year, and a spate of healthy earnings calls may push many of them higher yet. Several hotel and online marketplaces continue to project robust bookings throughout the first half of 2023, boosted by resurgent business travel data.
Those forecasts align with survey data showing that more than half of Americans have plans to travel between January and June. TSA numbers indicate the number of Airline passengers going through security checks has surpassed 2019 levels for more than half of February thus far.
Related ETF: Defiance Hotel, Airline, and Cruise ETF (CRUZ)
A spate of earnings from major hotel chains, online travel agencies, and Airbnb, the leading online marketplace for short-term homestays and experiences, appears to indicate that travel demand remains strong among Americans.
After recording its first ever annual profit in 2022, Airbnb reported it expects sales of $1.75 billion to $1.82 billion in the three months ending in March, clearing analysts’ average projection of $1.68 billion. Per Bloomberg, the number of nights and experiences booked in the final quarter of last year grew at a 20% pace and the company projects a similar pace to continue into 2023. Excluding listings from China, the company ended last year with 6.6 million active listings, an increase of 900,000 compared with 2021.
Digital travel marketplace Expedia missed analyst estimates for their earnings and revenue figures, but gross bookings across their travel products still rose 17% YoY to $20.5 billion. Moreover, Expedia Chief Financial Officer Julie Whalen gave an upbeat forecast for the next six months, stating that the company was “pleased to see strong lodging demand continue, including total lodging booking…
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